1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to route planning methods and systems, and, more particularly to systems and methods that perform region-based route planning and/or navigation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, wireless positioning technology, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System), has become a popular application for electronic devices, such as computers and portable devices. The GPS can receive signals from satellites, and accordingly determine the position of the electronic device. Users can also use navigation software in the electronic device for route planning and navigation.
Currently, the route planning of existing navigation products always adopt a point-to-point planning method, and the destination must be precisely defined. For example, a precise destination, such as a scenic spot, an address, or coordinates must be input, and the navigation software performs the route planning according to a current position of the electronic device and the destination. That is, if the precise data of a destination is not known, the corresponding route planning cannot be performed. Additionally, users always expect the route planning to be rapidly completed, and the navigation to be began as soon as possible. Thus, it may be time-consuming when the navigation software requires input of precise data of destinations.
Generally, when the distance between a current position of a user and a destination is far, detailed indications for the surrounding environment may be more meaningful than detailed indications for reaching the destination. For example, if a user wants to go from a specific location of a northland county, to a specific destination located in midland counties, detailed indications for reaching the specific destination are not immediately meaningful, since the user initially needs detailed indications for the surrounding environment, like connected to a nearest freeway.